Highway Construction Program Launched

The state has a mini road construction program under way. The last capital program, worth $31 billion over five years, expired at the end of last month. Now Gov. Pat Quinn has signed a new one into law, just for this year, worth $1.1 billion. “Whether you’re in the City of Chicago, the suburbs or Downstate Illinois, we’re investing in our roads and our bridges,” he said at a bill signing ceremony on a bridge that’s part of the Circle Interchange project in Chicago, reconstructing the junction of I-90-94 and I-290 at a cost of $420 million.

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This is one of the nation’s most congested highway interchanges. The legislation the governor signed authorizes the state to borrow the money for the projects. “A lot of the work this year is gonna be asphalt. We had a severe winter. There are a lot of potholes that still have to be repaired,” said Michael Sturino, president of the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association. The program also includes $100 million for counties, cities and townships to re-pave some of their battered roads.